Romance in Hard Times
Romance in Hard Times (known in development stages as America Kicks Up Its Heels) is a stage musical. Cast America Kicks Up Its Heels *Dick Latessa - Boris *Patti LuPone - Cleo *I.M. Hobson - Polly *Robin Boudreau - Thyra *Lenora Nemetz - Hennie *Alix Korey - Zoe *Robert Dorfman - Julie *Rodney Hudson - Harlan *Peggy Hewett - Eleanor Roosevelt Romance in Hard Times *Lillias White - Hennie *Lawrence Clayton - Harvey *Cleavant Derricks - Boris *Ray Gill - Polly *Alix Korey - Zoe *Michael Mandell - Gus *Peggy Hewett - Eleanor Roosevelt *Rufus Bonds Jr. - Chief Justice/Ensemble *Amanda Naughton - Older Handcuffed Sister *Stacey Lynn Brass - Younger Handcuffed Sister *Victor Trent Cook - The Kid/Ensemble Plot The musical takes place in a soup kitchen in New York City during the Depression. Hennie, a pregnant woman who works in the soup kitchen, decides not to give birth until children have a better world. Eleanor Roosevelt provides messages of hope. Musical numbers America Kicks Up Its Heels ;Act I *"All of Us Are Niggers" - Company *"Put It Together" - Boris and Cleo *"Eleanor Roosevelt: A Discussion of Soup" - Eleanor Roosevelt, Harlan and Company *"A Better World" - Hennie, Boris, Cleo and Thyra *"Cutting Hair" - Company *"Red Faces at the Kremlin" - Polly and Company *"America Kick Up Your Heels" - Cleo *"Push and Pull" - Cleo, Boris and Company *"All Fall Down" - Zoe *"The Depression Is Over" - Boris and Company ;Act II *"I Don't Want to Be Fired Again" - Cleo and Company *"Happiest Moment of My Life" - Boris *"Ask Me No Question" - Harlan *"Pull It Together" - Eleanor Roosevelt, Cleo and Company *"Nobody's Ever Gonna Step on Me" - Hennie *"Why" - Eleanor Roosevelt, Polly, Hennie, Julie and Company *"It Was Fun" - Thyra, Boris and Cleo *"America Kick Up Your Heels" (reprise) - Julie, Hennie, Harlan, Eleanor Roosevelt, Polly, Zoe, Thyra and Boris *"My Day Has Come" - Cleo *"Papa Says" - Boris, Cleo and Thyra *"All of Us Are Brothers" - Company Romance in Hard Times ;Act I *"Harvey" - Hennie *"Standing in Line" - Polly, Zoe, Gus, Handcuffed Sisters and Harmonising Fools *"I'll Get Out of Here" - Boris *"Harvey Promised to Change the World" - Harvey, Hennie, Boris and the Harmonising Fools *"The Supreme Court Saved from Fire" - Chief Justice and Judges *"Red Faces at the Kremlin" - Polly, Zoe and Handcuffed Sisters *"Charity Quartet" - Zoe, Gus and the Handcuffed Sisters *"Lovesong" - Hennie, Boris and Harvey *"Charity Quartet" (reprise) - Zoe, Gus and the Handcuffed Sisters *"Eleanor Roosevelt: A Discussion of Soup" - Eleanor Roosevelt, Zoe and Company *"I Never Said I Didn't Love You" - Harvey *"You Got Me Crazy" - Boris, Hennie and Company *"That's Enough for Me" - Hennie *"Places I Fainted from Hunger/Time Passes" - Polly and Company *"All Fall Down" - Zoe *"The Good Times Are Here" - Hennie, Boris, Eleanor Roosevelt and Company ;Act II *"Feelin' Rich" - Zoe, Gus, Polly, Handcuffed Sisters and Harmonising Fools *"Hold My Baby Back" - Hennie *"Hennie Soup" - Eleanor Roosevelt, Hennie, Gus and Company *"Thinking About You" - Boris and Hennie *"I Don't Want to Feel What I Feel" - Hennie *"The Prosperity Song" - Eleanor Roosevelt, Gus, Polly, Zoe and the Handcuffed Sisters *"A Gaggle of Celebrities" - Hennie and Celebrities *"I'll Get You Out of My Life" - Boris and Hennie *"How Could You Do This to Someone Who Robbed for You? (Prison Music)" - Gus, Zoe, Polly, Eleanor Roosevelt, Boris and the Handcuffed Sisters *"Blame It On These Times" - Boris *"You Can't Let Romance Die" - The Kid *"Gus' Triumph" - Gus *"The Last Can of Hennie Soup" - Zoe, Polly and the Handcuffed Sisters *"That's Enough For Me Duet" - Hennie and Boris *"Finale" - Full Company Category: Stage musicals